Blog Post

Paris Bike Ride

Mick C • 19 November 2021

A gentle bike tour around Paris

Having planned a long weekend in Paris for my teenage boys birthday I was looking for something to do that would entertain us both whilst taking in the city sights. The main objective of the trip was to watch Messi play for Paris Saint Germain. With the game booked on Saturday and a stadium tour booked Sunday afternoon there was Sunday morning to fill. Everyone said to go and see the Mona Lisa or take in one of the many galleries and museums, but I thought that wouldn’t be exciting for a teenage boy, so I was after something different. I looked at the bus tours and as I did came across a bike tour. What better way to see the city? It obviously ticked a box for me and surely it was more entertaining than queuing for hours to see a little picture, as iconic as the Mona Lisa is. So I booked it...

Sunday morning we headed from the hotel to the meeting spot next to one of the metro stations. We arrived early so nipped and purchased a couple of croissants to keep us going.

Back at the meeting point the meeting time came and went. I thought here we are a scam...but my phone rang and the guide explained that the meeting place had changed but Expedia hadn’t updated their information. She came to pick us up on her bike and after a 5 minute walk we were at the office with the rest of the group waiting. We got our bikes fitted and were introduced to our morning guide OJ.

I must say having seen the traffic in Paris the day before I was worried about riding on the roads but was assured the majority is cycle lanes and off the road. I soon found this to be true.

We set off through a few of the back streets with the Eiffel Tower to our left heading towards our first stop which OJ explained was the Military School or Infantry school in the old days. The pace was set lovely so we could all keep up. We rode around the military school, which was massive by the way, and shortly arrived at the front of Napoleons the 1st tomb within a lavish gold domed cathedral looking building. It was pretty impressive. OJ explained some of the history. It was clear his knowledge was excellent.

From the cathedral we headed around to the opposite side on rue de Grenelle which was situated at the end of a lovely green space, Esplanade des Invalides. The cathedral was fronted with a set of cannons and OJ explained the statues either side of the cathedral entrance. The road up to the cathedral is the Avenue du Marechal Gallieni surrounded by the park. It’s very wide and open with a very Paris feel to it.

Next we headed down the Avenue away from the cathedral turning right at the end to travel parallel with the river Seine. We crossed the river around the two-mile marker and was faced with the ‘Place de la Concorde’. OJ explained the history and memorably informed us that the place was used for public executions (including some royals) and one of the most expensive hotels in Paris is here. The winner of the tour de France gets to stay in the penthouse for night.

We then headed away from the river and at the end of the Place turned right onto the ‘rue de Rivoli’ which runs parallel with the ‘Jardin des Tulleries’. Apparently, the best hot chocolate in the world is served at a shop on this street, Angelina's. We passed it and it was rammed, the queue was out the door. Over to the right, in the ‘Jardin des Tulleries’ there was what looked like a winter fair with a massive swing ride that spun and spun and spun whilst swinging. My son looked back, as if to say can we go on that, but before he uttered the words, I gave him a definitive ‘no’. We passed it and took a right into the gardens.

To the left you could see the next stop, the Louvre. We didn’t go right to the centre where the famous glass pyramid is. OJ took us to the right of the garden to a secluded hedged grass area that had a fantastic view of the Louvre without the masses of people. We took our own iconic photos before setting back off into the heart of the ‘Jardin des Tulleries’ to grab a drink and a bite to eat. In the centre there was no biking which wasn’t a problem as we were stopping anyway.

After a little bit of fuel we exited the gardens at the far west corner and passed back around the edge of the ‘Place de la Concorde’, before riding back along the rivers edge. At this point it just started to rain, but it was the final leg of the tour.

After the best part of a mile, we crossed the river heading back toward the Eiffel Tower. We negotiated a fairly busy road to enter the beautiful park on the south side of the tower. It was very picturesque with the autumn colours in the leaves and the exquisite trees.

We hit mile five with one final stop to take pictures of the tower from the south side of it. We were very lucky as we hadn’t been on this side of the tower the day before. By now the rain was coming down so we didn’t stop long before making the short distance back to the tour office.

A thoroughly enjoyable ride taking in a couple of Paris’s key attractions. I would be a little wary taking kids on the ride on a busy work day when the traffic was full on. Sunday was perfect though for me and my teenage boy. If you ever do visit Paris, consider doing a bike tour, it’s not something you would probably think of at first, but it is certainly one of the best ways to get around.